1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to article holders and dispensers. More particularly, the present invention is a personal dental care unit, which attaches to a wall surface, e.g., in a bathroom. The device includes a mechanism for dispensing toothpaste from a tube secured therein and may also include receptacles for a dental floss container and toothbrushes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the years, people have generally become increasingly concerned about good dental hygiene. Toothpaste and toothbrushes are used nearly universally, and many people also use dental floss at least occasionally. Typically, a tube of toothpaste is kept in a bathroom cabinet, with toothbrushes stored nearby in a holder near the bathroom sink or basin. A container of dental floss may also be stored in the bathroom cabinet. While these various articles relating to dental hygiene are kept in the same general area, they are not usually located immediately with one another for convenient access in one specific location.
Moreover, the toothpaste must be manually squeezed from its tube onto the bristles of the toothbrush when no dedicated dispenser is provided. While this is a simple act for most people, younger children often have difficulty in gauging the amount of pressure to apply to the tube and the quantity of toothpaste to squeeze from the tube. Many people, including adults, are not adept at manipulating the tube to use all of the contents, and toothpaste tubes are often discarded with a fairly significant percentage of their toothpaste contents remaining. Another common problem is the loss of the cap from a toothpaste tube, which may result in the contents drying and hardening in the neck of the tube, thereby requiring that the tube be discarded even though it may still contain a significant quantity of toothpaste.
While some related art addresses perhaps one or two of the above problems, the present inventors are not aware of any related art device which provides a single solution to all of the above problems relating to personal dental care. An example of one related art device is described in German Patent No. 10,128,034, published on Dec. 12, 2002. According to the drawings and English abstract, the device comprises a wall-mounted tube with an automatic closure. The closure has a tab extending therefrom, which is pushed back by the head of the toothbrush to open the tube. No mechanism for dispensing the toothpaste from the tube nor means for holding the toothbrush(es) and/or floss is apparent in the '034 German Patent Publication.
None of the related art of which the present inventors are aware, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a personal dental care unit solving the aforementioned problems is desired.